UNICEF and the Global Goals

UNICEF is committed to doing all it can to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in partnership with governments, civil society, business, academia and the United Nations family – and especially children and young people.

Hidden in Plain Sight: A statistical analysis of violence against children

Interpersonal violence – in all its forms – has a grave effect on children: Violence undermines children’s future potential; damages their physical, psychological and emotional well-being; and in many cases, ends their lives. The report sheds light on the prevalence of different forms of violence against children, with global figures and data from 190 countries. Where relevant, data are disaggregated by age and sex, to provide insights into risk and protective factors.

Note: National police statistics for some countries record lower homicide levels than the statistical estimates shown here (which are derived from World Health Organization analyses for the Global Burden of Disease 2010 Study). The Governments of Jordan and Rwanda have advised that they consider WHO estimates published in this UNICEF report to be too high (see official letters for Jordan and Rwanda). WHO has undertaken new analyses for overall homicide death rates for Member States, which incorporate substantially greater use of national police statistics. The new WHO estimates are available on WHO website: Data on violence and injury prevention.

Errata: The online version of the report has been updated since its release to remove data on dating violence from Jordan.